1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display devices, and more particularly, to a display device and a driving device for a light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs), electroluminescences (ELs), vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), filed emission displays (FEDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), for example. The LCDs comprise two display substrates (e.g. a lower display substrate for thin film transistors (TFTs) and an upper display substrate for color filters), a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two display substrates and having dielectric anisotropy, and a backlight assembly having a light source and a driving device for the light source.
The backlight assembly for the LCDs comprises multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) or multiple external electrode fluorescent lamps (EEFLs), for example, and at least one inverter for driving the multiple CCFLs or the multiple EEFLs. The at least one inverter converts a DC power, which is applied in response to a brightness control signal applied from an external source, into an AC power; applies the AC power to the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs; and controls the brightness of the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs. Further, the at least one inverter detects voltages relating to electric currents of the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs and controls input voltages to be applied to the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs in response to the detected voltages.
When a surrounding temperature of the LCDs is less than a predetermined temperature of the LCDs, gases (e.g. mercury, etc.) in each discharging tube of the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs are converted into a liquid phase and thus some gases of each discharging tube are not excited and a desired brightness is not generated. Additionally, the life span of the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs is shortened, for the gases converted into a liquid phase erode electrodes of the multiple CCFLs or EEFLs.